AB Agri will create new roles in software development, engineering, data science, HR, business administration and finance.
Today (12 September), AB Agri announced that it will establish a new technology centre in Kilkenny, which will lead to the creation of up to 50 new roles over the next five years.
The UK-headquartered company employs more than 3,500 people around the world and is a leading international agricultural business operating across the agri-food industry.
AB Agri produces and markets animal feed, nutrition and technology-based products and services in 65 countries to more than 5m customers.
The new facility in Kilkenny will be dedicated to the company’s data and technology business, Intellync. It will develop new tech to improve farm performance and drive continuous improvement across agricultural supply chains.
Intellync works across agricultural supply chains with major food processors, retailers and directly with farmers to increase productivity, improve animal health and enhance corporate responsibility programmes.
The majority of the new Kilkenny-based roles will be in software development, software engineering and data science, with other positions in HR, business administration and finance.
Agri-tech hub
Speaking about today’s announcement, José Nobre, chief executive of AB Agri, said that the company holds “a unique position” in the agri-food industry.
“With over 30 years of expertise, we have a detailed understanding of agriculture’s importance in the global food supply chain and our philosophy is to help change it for the better.
“The holistic, targeted solutions developed by our new Intellync team and technology centre in Ireland will provide our industry with the insight to improve performance throughout the agri-food supply chain, helping it to meet the inevitable global growth in demand for food in a responsible way.
“This is an extremely exciting time for agriculture – the fast pace of developments being made in technology and the use of data are going to help our industry to make the major step changes we need to see in improving responsible productivity if we are to continue to feed our global growing population in a sustainable way.”
Ireland’s EU commissioner for trade, Phil Hogan, added: “Technology and data-driven innovation will be central to improving the efficiency, competitiveness and sustainability of our agri-food systems in the coming years.
“The establishment of this important agricultural technology centre in Kilkenny will help Ireland to remain at the cutting edge of producing more, while using less.”
Minister for Trade, Employment, Business and EU Digital Single Market, Pat Breen, TD, said that the move “further reinforces Ireland’s reputation as a progressive hub for innovation and technology”.
Meanwhile, IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan added: “AB Agri is one of the largest companies operating in the European agricultural industry and is a most welcome addition to our portfolio of companies operating in the south-east region.
“This ag-tech project is ideally suited to Kilkenny, which is located in an agricultural heartland, offering a good quality of life, a competitive business environment and access to tech talent.”
